Projects
Social Action Committee Projects
Project Isaiah:This project, which began as a once a year collection of food at the High Holidays, is now a year-round collection, with donated items contributed to our area food pantries.
Feed the homeless project: Once a month the members of our congregation go to St. Vincent's, the homeless shelter, and serve dinner to their overflow crowd of approximately 60 men.
Queen Esther project: At Purim, our congregants generously donate prom dresses to students at area high schools to wear at their prom (because everyone should feel like a Queen... Esther!).
Hand-in-Glove and Hannu-COAT projects: Our members knit scarves and donate gloves and coats each winter season for donation to those in need.
Mitzvah Day Projects: Each year at our annual Mitzvah Day, we join together to eat, laugh and work on a multitude of projects which benefit the community at-large, as well as our own congregants. For example, we've made lap blankets and donated them to nursing home residents; we bake and sell challah with the proceeds donated to a local charity; our children make Get Well cards which are distributed throughout the year to hospital patients; we hold a community blood drive, etc.
Project Darfur: an ongoing drive to collect six million pennies to be donated to organizations that are reaching out to those in need in Darfur.
Habitat for Humanity: our members participated in an Interfaith Build and welcomed the recipient family at a Shabbat service; at Tu B'Shevat we purchase tree seedlings and planted them at a Habitat home in the spring.
Sukkah raffle project: Each year we raffle off a sukkah and donate the proceeds to a worthy cause, e.g., past donations were made to Katrina relief efforts.
Collection drives: Throughout the year we make contributions of toiletries, clothing and money to domestic violence and homeless shelters; at Shavuot, we collect children’s books and donate them to various child-focused organizations such as Children’s Medical Center and the Ronald McDonald House; at Purim, our congregants bring in macaroni boxes to use in place of groggers, and then donate them to a local food bank, etc. In short, there's much work to be done but, when working with one another, it never quite feels like work to us. It's just plain fun!
If you would like to join our Social Action committee or suggest a project idea, please contact the synagogue office at 293-9520.
Ongoing volunteer opportunities include:
— Helping to maintain our community garden on a once per week basis.
— Serving a meal at the homeless shelter on the 3rd Sunday of every month.
— Packing up our collections of food to be delivered to area food pantries
— Visiting the residents of Covenant House.